Laos hopeful of reaching football finals

Lao football Coach Alfred Riedl said on Saturday that he was confident the Lao team would meet Vietnam in the final of the men’s football, as Laos has a good chance of beating Malaysia in the semifinals today.

“I know that public opinion holds that Malaysia will beat Laos, but as you know Laos can play in more than one gear and can switch to a higher gear if necessary to up their game. They won’t be easy to beat,” he told the media during a training session at Chao Anouvong stadium.

He commented that the semifinals would be tough for all four teams, because each was strong enough to go forward from their respective group.

“Laos has surprised other people by entering the semifinal round, but not for us because we have been training well and preparing for a long time. Malaysia is quite a surprise, I firstly thought Thailand would go to the semifinals,” he said.

The coach said that Laos should not be careless against Malaysia, as it had not been easy for Malaysia to defeat Thailand and enter the semifinal.

In Laos’ game with Singapore the team’s tactics aimed for a draw to ensure Laos would reach the semifinals.

“In the game with Malaysia, we will use a different strategy from playing with Singapore,” he said.

“We met with our target to enter the semifinals, but today we have a chance to go the final. Malaysia is a strong team, while we are now not easy to defeat,” said Lao Team Manager Viphet Sihachakr.

The manager expressed his thanks to Lao fans for encouraging the players.

Mr Viphet took on the role of managing the national team in 2004. From that time the team has gone from strength to strength, particularly with the help of Austrian coach Mr Riedl, who has stepped up the players’ competition readiness and ensured they are fighting fit.

“We have a good chance against Malaysia, we beat them recently in the pre-SEA Games Four Nations competition in November. At that match Malaysia fielded around half their national players. Now they have their full team, but three main players are out of the game after they were booked,” he said.

According to SEA Games records, Laos beat Malaysia 1-0 in the 19th SEA Games in Jakarta, 1997.

The venues and times for the semifinal matches on December 14 were changed after a team managers’ meeting on Friday.

Vietnam Vs Singapore will now be played at Chao Anouvong Stadium at 6pm, while Laos will meet Malaysia at the Km16 National Stadium at 7pm.

“The change was deemed necessary to accommodate TV requirements and those of the fans,” said Lao Football Federation President Mr Phouvanh Vongsouthi.

The National Stadium has over three times the seating capacity of Chao Anouvong and easier access for the larger amounts of traffic expected for the Laos Vs Malaysia match.

Source: KPL Lao News Agency
December 14, 2009